nnaann
New Member
There’s been a lot of constructive threads made recently, about ways in which the Pokemon TCG could be improved, and I feel that they’re great to give everyone a choice for their voice to be heard in front of Pokemon Organised Play. I feel they definitely make a difference, and can promote some good discussion, so I wanted to talk about a problem in how Pokemon OP is run that I really don’t understand.
There are lots of decisions made by the guys at Pokemon OP that aren’t to everyone’s taste, but it’s difficult to slate them when they’re often in a position where they can only appease a part of the Pokemon playing community. In addition to this, there are lots of decisions out of their control, like changes to the game made in Japan or their financial budget preventing them from making ones they would perhaps want to normally.
However, the decision I want to talk about today would not only save them money, it would also help to get more players into the game, as well as increase attendances in general, and increase the playerbase’s morale.
There is a lot of disorganisation in the way that Pokemon is run. Tournaments are often made public with little notice before the actual event, prizes like medals or promo cards are often delayed, and general information is given out to the player base very late into the season.
Most casual players looking to get into the game won’t be aware of when tournaments happen, so it’s important to have events up as early as possible on the website, in order to make Pokemon OP seem more active. A lot of people won’t check back a second time, and I know that a lot of people will mention that new players should attend leagues anyway, but there are a lot of people who are much more attracted by the thought of playing in a tournament. It’s much better to have new players at any event than no event, and I’m definitely one person who wouldn’t be here if the tournament I went to for my first event wasn’t on the website. Finally, most new players lack the commitment to attend events that regular players have, and may not bother to check back regularly or attend an event in which they have had little notice of.
This also affects the existing player base. I think around half the player base is made up of Juniors and Seniors, so there’s a large majority of people there who rely on adults to take to them events. Parents with busy lives who don’t play Pokemon themselves often need a good amount of notice to plan days out in advance. There are also a lot of players in the adult division with jobs, who need to book days off in advance or move days around, and aren’t able to. Giving people more notice would help to give players the opportunity to attend more tournaments, and increase general attendances.
The lack of organisation also affects the amount of times that prizes aren’t available for tournaments, and have to be given to players at later dates. I don’t mind this happening occasionally, I understand the fact that some factors regarding this are outside POP’s control and sometimes delays can happen. However, when this happens in a high proportion of tournaments (I’m not sure how much this affects those in North America, I know there were problems with State Championship medals last year), it’s just really demoralising to win a tournament and have to wait to a later date for the prize.
Finally, information needs to be given out to the player base at a much earlier date. For the last few years, information on gaining Worlds Invites has been given out around the time of City Championships, which is too late. I’m aware Battle Roads have a small bearing on ratings, but there are some bigger tournaments like Regionals or the Prague Cup coming up that people need a lot of notice to book, considering the distances people have to travel. Even if the previous tournament structures were different, having the ranking information available before Cities is a must, considering the impact they have on rankings.
The lack of organisation really baffles me, because it’s something that is so easy to implement that would not cost anything, and would change the Organised Play scene for the better. We’d be able to get larger attendances, make it easier for those who rely on others to take them to tournaments, and help to encourage new players into the game. There’s also a possibility of larger attendances encouraging increased investment into the Organised Play system. Plus, having prizes available on time, and booking venues further in advance would save money!
There are lots of decisions made by the guys at Pokemon OP that aren’t to everyone’s taste, but it’s difficult to slate them when they’re often in a position where they can only appease a part of the Pokemon playing community. In addition to this, there are lots of decisions out of their control, like changes to the game made in Japan or their financial budget preventing them from making ones they would perhaps want to normally.
However, the decision I want to talk about today would not only save them money, it would also help to get more players into the game, as well as increase attendances in general, and increase the playerbase’s morale.
There is a lot of disorganisation in the way that Pokemon is run. Tournaments are often made public with little notice before the actual event, prizes like medals or promo cards are often delayed, and general information is given out to the player base very late into the season.
Most casual players looking to get into the game won’t be aware of when tournaments happen, so it’s important to have events up as early as possible on the website, in order to make Pokemon OP seem more active. A lot of people won’t check back a second time, and I know that a lot of people will mention that new players should attend leagues anyway, but there are a lot of people who are much more attracted by the thought of playing in a tournament. It’s much better to have new players at any event than no event, and I’m definitely one person who wouldn’t be here if the tournament I went to for my first event wasn’t on the website. Finally, most new players lack the commitment to attend events that regular players have, and may not bother to check back regularly or attend an event in which they have had little notice of.
This also affects the existing player base. I think around half the player base is made up of Juniors and Seniors, so there’s a large majority of people there who rely on adults to take to them events. Parents with busy lives who don’t play Pokemon themselves often need a good amount of notice to plan days out in advance. There are also a lot of players in the adult division with jobs, who need to book days off in advance or move days around, and aren’t able to. Giving people more notice would help to give players the opportunity to attend more tournaments, and increase general attendances.
The lack of organisation also affects the amount of times that prizes aren’t available for tournaments, and have to be given to players at later dates. I don’t mind this happening occasionally, I understand the fact that some factors regarding this are outside POP’s control and sometimes delays can happen. However, when this happens in a high proportion of tournaments (I’m not sure how much this affects those in North America, I know there were problems with State Championship medals last year), it’s just really demoralising to win a tournament and have to wait to a later date for the prize.
Finally, information needs to be given out to the player base at a much earlier date. For the last few years, information on gaining Worlds Invites has been given out around the time of City Championships, which is too late. I’m aware Battle Roads have a small bearing on ratings, but there are some bigger tournaments like Regionals or the Prague Cup coming up that people need a lot of notice to book, considering the distances people have to travel. Even if the previous tournament structures were different, having the ranking information available before Cities is a must, considering the impact they have on rankings.
The lack of organisation really baffles me, because it’s something that is so easy to implement that would not cost anything, and would change the Organised Play scene for the better. We’d be able to get larger attendances, make it easier for those who rely on others to take them to tournaments, and help to encourage new players into the game. There’s also a possibility of larger attendances encouraging increased investment into the Organised Play system. Plus, having prizes available on time, and booking venues further in advance would save money!
